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Will Obamacare Encourage Divorce?

The House Oversight Committee released a report earlier this week finding that Obamacare will discourage marriage and could even lead married couples to divorce. I doubt the Democrats mind this little consequence of the law, seeing they don’t have much use for traditional families.

The report released Thursday added a new twist to the effort to repeal the reforms, concluding that the health care law would encourage people to stay single or even get divorced so they could claim the health care tax credit that will be available to those earning between 133 percent and 400 percent of the federal poverty level. Married couples with combined incomes are less likely to qualify for the tax credit.

“The result of linking the tax credit to the federal poverty level is that two individuals who make between $61,600 and $91,200 in 2014 will not benefit from the tax credit if they decide to marry, but both individuals can qualify for the tax credit if they remain unmarried or if they decide to divorce,” the report states.

The report also found that the health care law would lead to employers dropping their health care coverage because employees would be able to earn “sizable health insurance tax credits” by seeking coverage through an insurance exchange. Such a move would greatly increase the federal budget deficit, the report states.

Health care subcommittee Chairman Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., said the health care law “introduces another major inequity into the tax code, effectively encouraging employers and workers to drop employer-sponsored insurance and pass these costs to taxpayers. Additionally, the law adds a large marriage tax penalty and discourages job growth.” (Read More)

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